title: Effects of inferior colliculus lesions on the acoustic startle response.
abstract: "Nonspecific" electrolytic lesions (with respect to subdivision) of the mouse inferior colliculus (IC) resulted in the attenuation of acoustic startle response (ASR) amplitudes on the 1st post-operative day, but ASR amplitudes increased to above baseline levels 1 week later. Lesions of the IC central nucleus (CN) also attenuated ASR amplitudes on the 1st postsurgery day, but startle amplitudes recovered to baseline levels 1 week after surgery. Lesions of the IC lateral nucleus (LN) or dorsal cortex (DC) resulted in elevation of startle amplitudes above baseline 7 days after surgery and produced enhanced ASR amplitudes to repeated stimuli. Fourteen days after the surgery, lesion effects on startle amplitudes remained the same as those on Day 7 for each lesion condition. The present findings implicate the ICLN and the ICDC as inhibitory modulators of the ASR, but indicate only a minor role for the ICCN.
authors.affiliation: Northern Illinois University, DeKalb 60115.
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Parham
authors.forename: J F
authors.initials: JF
authors.lastname: Willott
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001143:Arousal / Q000502:physiology; D001288:Attention / Q000502:physiology; D001306:Auditory Pathways / Q000502:physiology; D001307:Auditory Perception / Q000502:physiology*; D001931:Brain Mapping; D004292:Dominance, Cerebral / Q000502:physiology; D007245:Inferior Colliculi / Q000502:physiology*; D008297:Male; D051379:Mice; D008810:Mice, Inbred C57BL; D009433:Neural Inhibition / Q000502:physiology; D009474:Neurons / Q000502:physiology; D011930:Reaction Time / Q000502:physiology; D012022:Reflex, Acoustic / Q000502:physiology*; D013216:Reflex, Startle / Q000502:physiology*